The benefits and occupational health teams sit within the HR team, as do health and safety and wellbeing teams.

The high risk of employees developing musculoskeletal problems through manual tasks, such as digging holes, is a particular focus of the teams.

Severn Trent’s health and wellbeing programme, Fit for the future, focuses on preventing staff injuries and maintaining their current fitness levels with the help of provider RehabWork, while reactive services include physiotherapy. A functional restoration programme gives employees rehabilitation support, enabling them to return to work as soon as possible.

Deborah Edmonds, occupational health and hygiene manager at Severn Trent Water, says: “The goal of the programme is to stimulate change in how staff think about their role in preventing musculoskeletal disorders, and how they are going to keep fit.”

She says it is crucial for staff of all ages to maintain their fitness levels to be able to perform their roles to the best of their ability, because work will inevitably become harder with age, particularly for staff in manual roles that require lifting, for example.

Edmonds says it may not always be possible to offer injured staff alternative or lighter duties, but some sort of support is essential.

“I don’t want staff to go home at the weekend in pain because of the work they’ve done over the course of their working day,” she says.